APPS & SITES

Quick Interview

Here’s an interview I did for the new Art of Photography course that starts soon. I was interviewed by Darlene Hildebrandt and we talk about everything from creativity to Hans Zimmer to the new course!

Daily Photo – Swimming Through the Grotto

The swimming pool at the Aulani (a Disney hotel) on Oahu is pretty incredible. I only saw the place at night, so I’m not sure how it looks during the day. But it looks like it was designed just so that it would look awesome at night!

It’s attached to one of those lazy rivers that bends around this way and that. I do like lazy rivers, but I don’t like all the Disney lifeguards watching me on every bend. What if I want a little lazy-river privacy? Well, I guess there’s no need for that with kids about and such.

The Dark Knight Rises Soundtrack from Hans Zimmer!

I was excited when I saw The Dark Knight Rises Soundtrack (iTunes link) was available for pre-order on iTunes. Not much longer now! I’ve got a few special photos set aside to edit while I listen… it will be a great evening!

I was in his studio when he was recording part of it. You would not have believed the electronics and machinery that filled his studio to produce the sounds. It looked like he had filled every space with ENIACs and Big Iron sound-mixing machines to create tones that had never before been produced. Here is an article about one of my trips to his studio before the dark knight rose to take over his “little boudoir” as he calls it.

Daily Photo – The Downtown Lights From Afar

Tom and I drove up to the top of a dormant volcano to look down on Waikiki late one night. It was a rather long day of being out in the rain and muck — and it was still raining when we arrived here. By this time, my D3X was in serious malfunction mode! I could only get Live View to work, and I had to use that to take photos…. not exactly ideal conditions!

Get your free camera for you AND a friend

Thanks to our friends at Adorama, you can win two cameras! Your choices of a Sony NEX-7, Nikon D7000 or Canon 60D! If you sign up for the “Bring a friend” package, then you’re automatically entered to win!

Daily Photo – Boat on Oahu Beach

You can drive along the beach for hours and hours in Oahu but miss what is actually there. Often times, there is a row of trees or houses that block the actual beach, but it’s hard to know what is just on the other side!

Luckily, Tom and I walked through some of the fauna and found this scene. It was all set up so perfect — and there I was with my camera (which isn’t THAT much of a surprise).

Big Announcement Coming…

On Monday! So… check just after our normal posting time, which is around midnight, Central Time. See you soon!

Daily Photo – Rain in the highland cliffs

The rain in Hawaii never seemed to stop!

But, the good news was that it kept everything green and glowing with a golden hue in the daytime. There is that kind of “wetness” of a place that is hard to describe. I hope I caught it okay here…

Tom and I walked around this farm for a while before we were approached by people working there. They wanted to figure out what the heck we were doing, but once they saw we were just innocent photographers, they let us go ahead and take photos. That was nice… once people figure out that photographers are mostly harmless, they let us have free reign!

Trey’s Variety Hour #40: The Art of Alexia Sinclair

Daily Photo – The Forever Coast

Oahu looks like such a small island on the map, but the coast seems to go on for ever and ever! We drove around the island in a counter-clockwise manner and popped out of the car from time to time.

To get to this spot in particular, Tom and I had to jump over the guard rail and run out onto a little cliff. It was quite high up, so I didn’t get too close to the edge… but the high perspective helped me to aim down along the coast without needing to show the horizon.

Daily Photo – Waterfalls in the Jungle Highlands

Here is an amazing place on Oahu. Right after the rain, a thousand little waterfalls tumble down from the highlands. When I was here, there were record-level storms, which kept the waterfalls full and robust. The shooting conditions were really tough! I have a video of what it was like to get this shot coming up at some point in the near future!

Space Cadets

Dallas Nagata White took this photo of Tom and me right after the photowalk. She has a cool method for doing this… I put it below so you can read more.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II…Yes, I shot these two with a Canon…I’m a rebel (but not a Rebel) like that.
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 24 mm (It was using the EF 24mm f1.4L II, if anyone is curious…I personally love the flare it gives)
ISO Speed: 200

Two Canon Speedlites with Pocketwizard Plus II triggers…a 580EX is being held by my friend hiding in the shadows behind them, pointed into the lens, and my husband was holding a 580EXII (with a small softbox) is above me and to my left for fill. They are standing at the end of a concrete pier/jetty with their backs to the ocean, and I’m crouching in front of them. Those aren’t stars – they’re rain drops! Although I definitely love the idea of them as stars…that’s inspiring, and a concept I’ll have to play with later.

I also posted on more shot that doesn’t have the lens flare, just rim lighting, when I shifted and the flash was hidden from the lens.

Daily Photo – Waikiki at Night

And during the photowalk, there were many great chances to take photos of the city. It was exciting for me — it was my first time to see the city at night. All the Oahu people were kind of used to it, I assume… But it was also exciting to have them all around.

When I set up for these shots during the photowalks, it’s always extra-strange. Because I’m really trying to get a good shot, but I also know that a ton of people are watching me right there. And then I talk through my shot while I’m taking it. And, of course, I NEED to get a good shot… there are so many vectors of attention that it can be a little distracting… but I do my best!

Japanese People with Cameras

I like to watch tourists take photos. One thing I notice is that, on average, Japanese people taking photos are happier than Americans taking photos.

Why is this? One guess is that Japanese people design the cameras, so they are easier for people to understand over there! Americans are often hopelessly confused by Japanese cameras, so some of their unhappiness comes from that scowl that says, “I’m not sure how this camera works.”

Daily Photo – Japanese in the Hawaii

And, continuing the theme of Japanese people, here is a couple in Hawaii. I like how they are wearing matching outfits (her dress matches his shirt if you look closely). I had a version of this photo with and without the people in it… and I quite like the one with them in there!

YouTube Subscription

Don’t forget you can subscribe to my YouTube channel for free. I’ve been putting up more and more videos – I hope you find something you like there!

Daily Photo – Waikiki after Sunset

Right after the PhotoWalk in Oahu started, I went over to take this photo. As usual, I talked through it while people were crowded around. But, at first, people didn’t ask many questions. That’s okay… maybe the situation was weird… but later in the walk, people opened up and started to ask more questions. I think people there were just very nice and didn’t want to seem too pushy or anything. I do appreciate that, but people can always feel free to ask me anything.

Tom hates Palm Trees

While I was in Hawaii with Tom, he wondered why I occasionally liked to include Palm Trees in my photos. He thought they were obvious and touristy. I tried to explain to him that they are not! Most people in the world (99%) like a good palm tree… myself included!

Daily Photo – Palm Trees at Night

One night in Oahu we were doing some photography along a beach. Off in the distance we saw some palm trees that were lit from the bottom. It was about a quarter mile from anything else, so that was sort of strange. But I thought it was so interesting to see them lit from the bottom with small green pools of light underneath that I decided to walk over there and see what was going on. After I got over there, there were endless compositions of these various trees. I grabbed about five different angles and then took a midnight-nature break of my own…